Material-handling buckets, or loaders, are common attachments for many types of equipment including tractors, skid steers, four wheelers and bulldozers. Loaders are most often attached to the front of such equipment with arms and hydraulic controls that allow the loader to be raised and lowered, and also rolled forward and backward. Although front-end loaders are designed for handling and transporting large amounts of bulk material, equipment operators typically use the loader for many other tasks.
For example, the front-end loader may be used to dig and excavate earth and soil. Operators may also use the loader to grade and level soil or other surface material after digging or excavating. The loader may also be used to break up earth and soil prior to excavating or leveling. Although front-end loaders are commonly used for these tasks, present loader designs are not optimal for scraping, grading and scarifying surface material.
When using the front-end loader on a tractor to dig or excavate soil, the front lip of the bucket is rotated downward and forced into the soil using the forward motion of the tractor. When the front lip of the bucket reaches the desired depth, the bucket is then rotated backwards so that the bottom of the bucket is level with the ground. Using the forward motion of the tractor, the soil can be dug and scooped into the bucket. However, when digging in this manner, the bucket blocks the operator's view of the digging area and makes it difficult for the operator to judge the optimal cutting depth.
When using the front-end loader to grade or level soil, the rear edge of the bottom surface of the bucket may be placed on the ground and the bucket dragged backward to pull earth and soil behind the bucket. This method, however, has disadvantages because the design of conventional buckets does not allow for much soil to accumulate behind the bucket when used in this manner. Also, the rear surface of conventional buckets is not specifically designed and reinforced to provide for scraping and grading in this manner.
The front edge of the bucket may also be used for scraping and grading. The front-end loader may be raised and the bucket rotated forward so that the bottom of the bucket is essentially vertical and the front edge of the bucket is in contact with the ground. The front edge of the bucket may then be dragged backward to pull earth and soil behind the bucket to grade the surface. This method also has disadvantages because tremendous torque is placed on the bucket when it is dragged backward in this position, creating undue wear and tear on the hydraulic cylinders that control the rotation of the bucket. The front edge of the bucket is also not specifically designed and reinforced to provide for scraping and grading in this manner.
Although a front-end loader may be used to break up discrete amounts of soil, conventional front-end loaders are not capable of scarifying large amounts of soil. To break up discrete amounts of soil, the bucket may be rotated forward so that the bottom of the bucket is essentially vertical. The bucket can then be lowered to drive the front edge bucket into the ground and break up the soil. This procedure can be repeated with the vehicle moved incrementally to create a series of cuts in the ground. This procedure, however, is time consuming, ineffective for scarifying a large area of ground and utilizes the hydraulics of the front-end loader rather than the forward or backward motion of the vehicle to break up the soil. Conventional front-end loaders have no means for scarifying soil while the vehicle is in motion or for scarifying the ground parallel to the direction of travel of the vehicle.
The need for versatile implements capable of transporting material and also grading/scraping/scarifying has been recognized in the prior art. U.S. Pat. No. 5,172,499 issued to Griffin discloses a modified box scraper that is also capable of collecting, transporting and dumping soil or other bulk material. This implement, however, does not have the versatility or functional utility of a conventional loader. Also, collected material must be manually dumped by activating a lever that releases the bottom wall of the collection box. Thus, although the disclosed implement is apparently effective for conventional scraping and grading, it does not provide the recognized benefits and utility of a conventional loader.
The need for scarifying teeth in combination with other functional features of an implement is also recognized in the prior art. Box graters/scrapers with scarifying teeth are common implements for tractors. These implements are typically attached to the rear three-point hitch on a tractor and pulled behind the tractor to break up, grate and level soil and other surface material. U.S. Pat. No. 5,515,625 issued to Keigley also discloses a rake implement for use with a skid steer that also includes removable scarifying teeth behind the rake. As noted by Keigley, the scarifying teeth “permit deep penetration and scarifying of the earth while still permitting the tines comprising the rake blade to level and work the soil.” However, although the benefit of combining scarifying teeth with other functional features of a tractor or skid steer implement has been recognized, scarifying teeth have not been effectively utilized in combination with a conventional loader.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a loader that is capable of more effectively digging, grading and scarifying surface material.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a loader that is less subject to undue wear and tear when used for digging, grading and scarifying surface material.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a grader blade component for a conventional loader that does not interfere with the normal operation of the loader.
An additional object of the present invention is to provide scarifying teeth for a conventional loader that do not interfere with the normal operation of the loader.
A still further object of the present invention is to provide a combination grader blade with scarifying teeth for a conventional loader that does not interfere with the normal operation of the loader.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a grader blade, scarifying teeth, or a combination grader blade with scarifying teeth that may be added to an existing loader or other conventional implement that does not interfere with the normal operation of the implement.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide an improved method for digging, grading, scraping and/or scarifying earth with a conventional front-end loader.
Finally, an object of the present invention is to provide a combination loader/grader/scraper that is economical to manufacture, durable and refined in appearance.